• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Virginia Tech faces BC in rematch of ACC title game

Oct 18, 2008 - 10:13 AM (18) Virginia Tech (5-1) at Boston College (4-1), 8:00 pm EDT

CHESTNUT HILL, Massachusetts (Ticker) -- Virginia Tech is rolling just in time for a visit to New England.

Having won five in a row, the 18th-ranked Hokies visit Boston College on Saturday in a rematch of last season's Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

Virginia Tech (5-1, 2-0 ACC Coastal) has been off since a 27-13 victory over Western Kentucky on October 4. The Hokies have not lost since a season-opening 27-22 defeat to East Carolina.

"If you gave me a choice of being 5-1 after our first six games, I would haven taken that in a heartbeat, just with how young we are," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "Being 5-1 sounds pretty good, but we still have our work cut out for us."

Virginia Tech defeated Boston College, 30-16, in the ACC title game last year as Sean Glennon threw three touchdown passes to outplay Boston College star Matt Ryan.

A year later, Glennon is on the bench and Ryan in the NFL, having led the Atlanta Falcons to a surprising 4-2 start. Glennon won the starting quarterback job for the Hokies in the preseason, but he was benched after two games.

Initially, Virginia Tech had intended to redshirt sophomore Tyrod Taylor, who replaced Glennon against Georgia Tech and has posted a 4-0 record as the Hokies' starter.

Taylor, who shared playing time with Glennon last year, threw his first touchdown pass of this season against Western Kentucky. He is Virginia Tech's second-leading rusher behind Darren Evans.

Senior Chris Crane has had an up-and-down start as Ryan's replacement for the Eagles. On September 20, he was booed and briefly benched in a 34-7 victory over Central Florida.

Without Ryan, Boston College (4-1, 1-1 ACC Atlantic) was expected to be a rebuilding mold. But the Eagles have won three straight since a 19-16 loss to Georgia Tech, including a 38-31 victory over North Carolina State and former coach Tom O'Brien two weeks ago.

Crane scored the game-winner on a 13-yard touchdown with 22 seconds remaining, capping a day in which he accounted for five touchdowns. He rushed for three scores and threw for two while completing 34-of-51 passes for 428 yards.